DENVER (August 31, 2018) — Commercial real estate brokers generally are not threatened by WeWork and the overall co-working trend, according to the latest Apto National Broker Buzz Poll, which was conducted last week.

The poll asked specifically: “How much of a threat is WeWork to the CRE brokerage business?”

In response, 49% of brokers said “Not a threat,” 44% said “Somewhat of a threat” and only 7% said “A major threat.”

Asked how concerned they are that tenants, over time, will opt for co-working space versus traditional lease or sub-lease space, 63% of brokers said they are “Not concerned,” 35% say they are “Somewhat concerned” and only 2% said they are “Very concerned.”

Commenting on the poll results, Tanner McGraw, founder and chief strategy officer of Apto, said, “For all the attention WeWork gets as a disruptor shaking up how people think about work, commercial real estate brokers don’t see co-working as a particularly big threat to either the brokerage business or the traditional model of real estate space occupancy.

“On some level WeWork may represent more of an existential threat — and a reminder that the only constant in business is change, and that we should never be complacent with any of our approaches to business.”

Poll results also demonstrate that brokers generally are not interested in lease transactions under 2,000 square feet, but highly interested in transactions between 3,000 and 5,000 square feet.

Specifically, the poll asked: “How interested are you as a broker in small lease transactions?”

“As the poll results demonstrate, WeWork’s market opportunity appears strongest relative to small businesses, particularly tenants with space requirements under 2,000 square feet. Brokers have historically been less interested in these deals, which has contributed to WeWork’s rise as a player in that market.”

Thanks to those members of the commercial real estate brokerage community who participated in the poll, which included Apto customers and non-customers.

About Apto

Apto, the commercial real estate software company, is the #1 CRM and deal management platform for commercial real estate brokers, with more paid users than any other service. Apto was built by and for brokers to help them manage contacts, properties, listings and deals from anywhere, on any device.

Apto customers include thousands of independent brokers around the world, as well as multinational brokerages CBRE, JLL, NKF, Cushman & Wakefield and others. Headquartered in Denver, Apto is one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., as ranked by Inc. magazine three years in a row. For more information, visit, https://www.apto.com/.